Documentation

The research centre holds and manages several research archives previously belonging to renowned art historians such as Maurits Smeyers (1937-1999), Bert Cardon (1946-2015), Jan Karel Steppe (1918-2009), Antoine De Schryver (1924-2005) and Hans Nieuwdorp (°1944). The archives are accessible by appointment only. Illuminare is also in the process of launching an extensive online database, dedicated to medieval illuminated manuscripts.

The Illuminare Image Database (IID), to be launched in 2019, is an open access research database for medieval and early modern illuminated manuscripts. The database consists of more than 19,000 digitised slides with accompanying metadata (in English) from the archival collections of Illuminare. The slide collection was assembled by the centre between 1983 and 1999. Most…

Maurits Smeyers (1937-1999) was a Belgian art historian and full professor at KU Leuven. He founded Illuminare in 1983, which was first established as a study centre for medieval book illumination. Professor Smeyers was a celebrated expert of medieval art, notably of Flemish book illumination, pre-Eyckian painting and Jan van Eyck. His extensive archives were donated…

Bert Cardon (1946-2015) was a Belgian art historian and full professor at KU Leuven. He was a specialist of illuminated manuscripts and late medieval typology. He was the co-founder and former director of Illuminare. If you would like to consult the archives or if you wish to receive the latest inventory, do not hesitate to contact…

Jan Karel Steppe (1918-2009) was a Belgian art historian and full professor at KU Leuven. He was a renowned specialist of Flemish tapestry, early Netherlandish painting (notably Jan van Eyck and Hieronymus Bosch), medieval sculpture, religious (micro)architecture and sixteenth-century Spanish collectors of Netherlandish art. His archives were donated to Illuminare in 2010 and 2018. They…

Antoine de Schryver (1924-2005) was a Belgian art historian and professor at Ghent University, where he lectured on medieval art. He was a specialist in the field of illuminated manuscripts and paintings of the Burgundian Netherlands. His documentation was donated to Illuminare in 2005. De Schryver left behind approximately 75 meters of research resources, including books,…

Hans Nieuwdorp is a Belgian art historian and honorary curator of the Antwerp Art Museums. He was the former head of the Mayer van den Bergh Museum in Antwerp (1976-2009). Nieuwdorp, an eminent specialist in the field of medieval and early modern sculpture, donated his extensive documentation on Flemish carved altarpieces to Illuminare in 2014. Illuminare…